Generally, abrasive products comprise abrasive particles bonded together with a binder to a supporting substrate. For example, an abrasive product can comprise a layer of abrasive particles bound to a substrate, where the substrate can be a flexible substrate such as fabric or paper backing, a non-woven support, and the like. Such products are employed to abrade a variety of work surfaces including metal, metal alloys, glass, wood, paint, plastics, body filler, primer, and the like.
It is known in the art that abrasive products are subject to “loading”, wherein the “swarf”, or abraded material from the work surface, accumulates on the abrasive surface and between the abrasive particles. Loading is undesirable because it typically reduces the performance of the abrasive product. In response, “antiloading” compositions have been developed that reduce the tendency of an abrasive product to accumulate swarf. For example, zinc stearate has long been known as a component of antiloading compositions. Many classes of compounds have been proposed as components of antiloading compositions. For example, some proposed components of antiloading compositions can include long alkyl chains attached to polar groups, such as carboxylates, alkylammonium salts, borates, phosphates, phosphonates, sulfates, sulfonates, and the like, along with a wide range of counter ions including monovalent and divalent metal cations, organic counterions, such as tetraalkylammonium, and the like.
However, there is no known teaching in the art as to which of this large class of compounds are effective antiloading agents, short of manufacturing an abrasive product with each potential compound and performing a time consuming series of abrasion tests. Many proposed compounds are actually ineffective antiloading agents.
Furthermore, some agents known to be effective for antiloading result in unacceptable contamination of the work surface, e.g., commonly leading to defects in a subsequent coating step. For example, use of zinc stearate in finishing abrasives in the auto industry leads to contamination of the primer surface, requiring an additional cleaning step to prepare the primer for a subsequent coat of paint.
Also, some antiloading agents that are known to be effective, such as zinc stearate, are insoluble in water. As a result, manufacturing an abrasive product with a water-insoluble antiloading agent can require organic solvents or additional additives and/or processing steps.
Thus, there is a need for antiloading agents that are effective, that are easily incorporated into an abrasive product, and that minimize contamination of the work surface. Further, there is a need for a method of selecting effective antiloading compounds.